What is 3D TV, and How Does it Work

3D TV – What Is It and How Does It Work?

3D TV is the newest craze that is hitting TV manufacturers and their products. 3D is short for 3-dimensional, which basically means that the added dimension of depth is introduced into the image.

Unlike the conventional image of television and movies which are basically just the 2 basic dimensions of image and sound, 3D makes use of two images and special glasses that are worn by the viewer in order to make it look like the viewer is part of the image, or vice versa, due to the fact that there seems to be real-world depth to the image.

Today, there are three different kinds of 3D TV, which are the following:

• Anaglyph technology – anaglyph technology is basically what started it all. 3D technology is far from new, and people have been trying to integrate 3D more and more into the daily viewing lives of people all over the world.

Anaglyph technology was the earliest form of 3D, and it is when two images are superimposed with an additive light setting.

There are two filters that are used to be able to view the anaglyph image as 3 dimensional, with the two filters being red and cyan because they are on opposite poles of the color wheel.

These two filters are then made into glasses that can be worn by the viewer in order to fully appreciate the 3D image. Because this kind of technology is basically the earliest form of 3D TV, it needs less-specialized equipment in order for it to be produced; but, of course, it does not exactly produce the clearest and most vibrant of 3D pictures.

• Polarized (or passive) technology – after anaglyph technology became obsolete, a new kind of 3D technology became more widely used, and this is the polarized technology.

With this kind of technology the 3D effect is created by limiting the kind of light that is being allowed to get to each eye, rather than both being superimposed onto each other like in the earlier technologies of 3D TV.

The two images are projected onto the screen through different polarized filters; meaning, filters that are on opposite sides of the pole, so to speak.

The viewer will then wear polarized 3D glasses that are colored differently on each side, and the glasses will only allow light from the same pole to enter through. This way, the eyes are seeing two different images at the same time, which then creates the illusion of a 3D image.

Being able to see something through two different perspectives creates a 3D look, and is precisely what polarized technology is doing.

• Active technology – active technology is the kind of 3D technology that is now being used for widespread 3D TV; meaning, it is the technology that is being used by the large manufacturing companies of the new 3D TVs that are coming out and being sold on the market.

Through this technology the high definition TV is able to project one image to one eye, and another image to the other eye. Of course, the viewer still needs to wear the special 3D viewing glasses.

The glasses then block each eye according to the sequence so that the viewers only see what they are supposed to see for the picture to look 3D.

If you haven’t already guessed, these kinds of 3D glasses are way more complicated in design than the normal polarized glasses that can be bought for as little as $1.

These active 3D TV glasses are always in sync with the TV, and this is done via Bluetooth. This is why, when you buy a TV that is 3D capable, it is best that you buy glasses from the same brand to make sure that you have maximum compatibility.

Now that you know more about what 3D TV actually is and the kinds of technology that are present now, you can then focus on whether or not owning a piece of equipment like this is recommended for you. Today, all the major television set manufacturers are coming out with a model or two of TV sets that are 3D-ready.

This is another step to complete revolutionizing the way we all watch our movies in our homes. These TVs are aiming to give people the type of cinematic experience that they get when they pay a large amount of money in a cinema; but now, they are getting it right in the comforts of their own homes.

This is very appealing to people who wish to be able to get what other people are getting, but are not necessarily very fond of going outside and battling it out with the droves of people who rush to cinemas on opening day. 3D TV may just very well be the future of television viewing.

The question of whether or not you should buy a 3D-capable television set is still under a lot of controversy and discussion. As is with all new technologies, there are a lot of hurdles that it must face.

The world is simply not ready to have 3D in every home, seeing as it is more expensive than a normal television set, and there is a need for glasses every time you even want to make use of it.

But despite all of this, experts believe that all televisions that will be found in households are going to be 3D-ready any time in the next decade.

High Definition televisions, for example, used to be quite a luxury. Today, there is hardly any kind of respectable television that you can buy that is not even Hi-def.

With that said, it is probably safe to say that purchasing a 3D TV now is pretty much just getting in front of the line. Sooner or later, every TV that is being sold will have 3D options, whether people will even make use of it or not.

The difference, then, is whether you would want to wait for then or now to buy it. Either way, it is almost easy to assume that sooner or later, you are going to buy it anyway